Influence of Broadcast Media Enlightenment Campaigns on Prevalence of Breast Cancer among Women in Delta State

Abstract

The study set out to determine the influence of broadcast media enlightenment campaigns on the prevalence of breast cancer among women in Delta State. The specific objectives were to determine the level of women’s awareness of breast cancer in Delta State; to identify the broadcast medium through which women in Delta State mostly access messages on breast cancer; to ascertain the extent to which broadcast media enlightenment campaigns had prompted women in Delta State to engage in breast cancer preventive strategies; and to determine factors that impede women’s access to broadcast media messages on breast cancer in Delta State. The research adopted the descriptive survey research design to generate both quantitative and qualitative data through questionnaire and in-depth interview. A sample size of 405 was drawn from women in Delta State. It was found that women’s awareness of breast cancer in Delta State was very high (99.8%). The findings also indicated that radio was the primary medium through which women in Delta State access messages on breast cancer. The findings further showed that broadcast media enlightenment campaigns have prompted majority (72.6%) of the women in the state to practise breast selfexamination as part of preventive strategies against breast cancer. The study, among others, recommended that the media and other relevant stakeholders should do more in creating awareness in a manner that will give women thorough knowledge of the prevalence of the disease, especially as some of the women studied indicated that they were ‘moderately aware’ of the disease; and that most information on breast cancer should be disseminated to members of the public, particularly those in Delta State, through radio.